"Are ye saying she isna the one?" Angus asked.
"I'm saying it's not easy." Gregori headed toward the door to make an escape. "The president isn't going to accept a vampire son-in-law."
"Ah." Emma's eyes lit up. "So you're considering marriage?"
Gregori gulped. "I didn't say that. I - I was speaking theoretically."
Angus grunted. "Well, lad, if she's good enough to bed, then she should be good enough to wed. Theoretically speaking, of course."
Gregori reached into his coat pocket and squeezed a stress ball. "Abigail and I are modern people. We're not tied to old-fashioned ideas of - "
"Och, I see. Ye're a generous soul, so ye plan to share her with other men."
"What?" The ball exploded in his pocket. "Shit." Now his coat pocket was full of baking soda.
Emma and Angus chuckled.
"Yeah, very funny." He stalked to his office. Tossed the exploded stress ball into the trash can. There was no message on his phone. He had Abigail's number now, since she'd phoned him earlier, so he called. No answer, so he left a short voice message. Call me.
He worked for an hour. Still no phone call. He teleported to his condo, showered, then threw on some jeans and a T-shirt. No call, no message. He sprawled on the sofa to watch DVN and guzzled a warm bottle of blood.
His Droid buzzed. Finally a text message from Abigail: My mom is stable now, still at home. It's late, so going to bed.Good night.
He called her number, but she didn't pick up. He texted her: Answer your phone.
She texted back: No.
Then call me.
No. You'll teleport to my bedroom.
He smiled. She was on to him. Chicken!
Bawk!
He drummed his fingers on the Droid, trying to come up with a reply that would make her call. I have a stress ball that needs to be squeezed. He winced and deleted that.
He'd teleported to the Oval Office before, so he could get fairly close to her. He texted: I'm teleporting to the West Wing. Will search the White House until I find you.
The phone rang.
"Bingo." He answered it.
"You can't wander around the White House," she fussed at him. "You'll get yourself arrested - "
He focused on her voice and teleported.
" - and then we'll never make it to China. And - " She jumped when he appeared next to her bed. "You rascal, I knew you'd do that."
He grinned as he turned his phone off, then stuffed it into a front pocket of his jeans. She was sitting against a blue tufted headboard on a queen-sized bed, glaring at him.
"You should leave." She set her phone on the bedside table.
"But I just got here." And she looked so sweet with her damp curls and freshly scrubbed face and old-fashioned pajamas. Good God, how he'd love to peel those off. Before his eyes could turn red, he shifted his gaze to look around her room. "Very nice."
"Thank you. You can go now." She dragged the blue comforter up to her chin.
"Smart move. Those pajamas with little coffee cups on them are way too sexy. I can hardly restrain myself."
She smiled and shook her head. "I don't own any sexy lingerie."
"That's amazing." He sat on the edge of her bed. "Neither do I."
She laughed.
"See how much we have in common?"
She kicked at him from under the covers. "It's late, Gregori. After three in the morning."
"But a good Vamp can go all night long."
She nudged him again. "I've been up for twenty-two hours. I want to sleep."
"No problem." He stood and turned off the lamp on her bedside table. "Good night, sweetheart." He could still see well in the dark, and he grinned at the way she squinted her eyes to follow his movements.
"You're not leaving?" she asked. "What are you doing?"
He arrived at the other side of her bed and pulled back the sheet. "You wanted to sleep." He climbed in.
She gasped. "Not with you!"
He fluffed up his pillow. "You might as well get used to it. You'll be sleeping with me on the trip."
"I will not."
"You want to sleep with the other guys?" He lay down beside her. "I'll have to beat them up then. Not really good for team spirit, but - "
"You can't sleep in my bed!"
"Relax. I won't bite."
She snorted. "Gregori, you're in the White House. You don't sneak into a girl's bed in the White House!"
He glanced at the door. "Is it locked?"
"Yes, but - "
"Is there a guard at the door?"
She shook her head. "Down the hall by the stairs."
"Then we should be fine." He turned onto his side to face her and smiled. "As long as you don't scream."
She scoffed. "I'm going to sleep."
"I won't stop you."
She gave him a wary look. "Then why are you here?"
Why was he here? He'd never climbed into a girl's bed before just to talk. "I missed you. I wanted to know how you were doing."
She scooted down into a lying position. "I'm tired. Worried about my mom."
"How is she?"
"Stable. But not good. They may take her to the hospital tomorrow if she doesn't improve."
"I'm sorry." He brushed a curl back from her brow.
She sighed. "I sat with my dad for a few hours by her bedside. He told me how sorry he was that I'd been unhappy."
"He loves you," Gregori whispered.
"I love him, too. I love all my family." She smiled sadly at Gregori. "There are times, though, that I feel like I don't belong. Like an outcast."
"I know the feeling. I'm an outcast, too."
Her eyes widened as she gazed at him. It took all his control not to pull her into his arms.
She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. "We do have a lot in common."
Time stretched out while he tried to think of something incredibly deep and insightful to say. Something that would impress her. "There's something hard in my pants."
She moaned. "Why am I not surprised?"
"Really uncomfortable." He reached down to his jeans to get a hold on it.
"Oh God, don't let it out."
"Got it!" He pulled his hand out and showed her the Droid.
She laughed.
He dropped the phone on the bedside table next to him, then snuggled up close to her.
"What are you doing?"
"We're going to sleep, right?"
"I thought you slept during the day."
"I do." He wrapped his arms around her.
She rested her head against his chest. "You're just going to lie there? Sounds kind of boring."
"Not at all." He stroked her hair. "I get to hold you. Listen to you breathe. Think."
She yawned. "About what?" She closed her eyes.
"Keeping you warm." He tucked the comforter around her. "Keeping you safe." Her breaths deepened, and her body relaxed against him.
He kissed the top of her head. "Keeping you mine."
Half asleep, Abigail reached for Gregori. She couldn't remember ever sleeping so well. She'd loved the feel of his arms around her and the way he'd stroked her hair. She'd felt safe and loved, and now that she wasn't so tired, she was remembering other things. Like how broad and muscular his chest was. How gentle and sweet his hands were. How he made her laugh. Made her hot.
"Gregori," she mumbled and stretched her hand out to feel his hard abs.
Nothing.
She jerked awake and sat up. She was alone. And good Lord, it was almost noon!
Gregori must have teleported away hours ago. She glanced at his pillow. It was still indented where his head had rested. She touched it. How sad that she had to wait till sunset to see him again.
She picked up the pillow and nestled her cheek in the valley. His scent filled her nostrils, and she hugged the pillow against her chest. She was falling fast. She'd been falling for some time, but things were a little different now. Before, she had hoped to somehow stop the feelings before they grew any stronger.
Now she knew there was no stopping it. She wanted him. She wanted years of laughter with him. And all those scream-filled nights he had promised her.
But there were always consequences. Could she actually live with a vampire? How could her parents accept him? What kind of future could she have with him?
With a groan, she tossed the pillow aside. She was tired of always approaching life like a scientist. Why couldn't she just enjoy herself for once?